the customer is not always right!!!

Boy do I understand what you are saying! It's like you are someones personal doormat! They think they can take all their frustrations out on you and also they have a sense of entitlement...like you are their personal slave....but for the most part when I have been in customer service....most people are not this way...its the ones that are that let themselves be known. Just don't let it throw you...don't let them wreck your day! But I understand your complaint completely!

I am a customer, but used to be in customer service. It is a trying job. I try to remember that when things happen. It is not the person that I am complaining to that did it most of the time.

I am a customer but I do work at a daycare and over the few years I have been doing this work there have been some disrespectfull parents aswell that will blame every possible thing their child does onto you or your colleague. All the good things children do they learn at home, if they pick up swearing words or something than that's allways the daycares fault. I have worked in a large vaiety of different daycares and luckily there aren't many parents that behave this way, but it can be pretty hard because of the 'customer is allways right principle'. I try to allways thank people for their trouble, even if it's considered someones work/job or whatever. I see nothing wrong with being polite or thankfull. Sometimes people look at my in disbelieve because I thank them, so I guess not many people do so anymore .

Hi there, I'm on both sides. because of that, I'd never ever go into a place or call a place and be a jerk to the person that I want to help me. I am lucky in that I have a good bunch of regular customers and for the most part, I don't get a lot of grief. I've been dealing with people for years so maybe i'm just so used to it. Every once in a while someone comes along and is such a complete jerk that they stand out and then I have a hard time biting my tongue. Sometimes I don't. you can be upset without being disrespectful.

I'm a customer service rep, too, only I work at a dry cleaners! (So we're in a similar situation.. sort of anyway!) I hate that customers can pretty much walk all over employees - so long as they're paying the company something (especially now because of the "horrible economy"). I really love working with people, especially our nice regulars, but I cannot stand when people feel that they can be totally inconsiderate of employees and what they have on their plates.

I agree with you. Customers tend to walk all over the very people that are there to help them. When I was in the Air Force it was guys saying 'your job is services... service me!' never mind that there were guys in my squadron! When I was at McDonalds a guy got mad because the cooks didn't make his order fast enough. I brough it too him and he said 'what, you graduate from highschool and this is the best you can do?' I was so livid I threw his food at him and stomped off. No, I served in the US AirForce, was friggin TRAINED in food services and THIS is the best that the United States government trained me for.

I know how you feel. People think that just because your job is to serve them then you are their slaves. I have been on both ends and I know how ungrateful people can be. It's a very thankless job at times but I'm sure you take pride in you efforts every day.

I was in customer service all my life. I enjoyed serving and helping people and sending them off with a smile. But some people are just totally obnoxious thinking we are second class citizens and certainly beneath them. Where does anyone get off thinking they are better than anyone else. You might have a better job, a flash car and a beautiful home but none of that makes anyone better than me.

It does seem like some ppl just purposely go through life making it harder on others. Perhaps if more ppl treated others the way they would want to be treated...it's too bad that so many ppl don't do that. [b]~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~ **STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS**[/b]

oh,believe me,i hear ya.i worked in housekeeping on and off for 14 years. i think i have met every type of rude d**chebag you possibly could. you get the comp bouncers,the non-tip room destroyers,the drunken b*stards, people who like to mess with people who can't fight back or lose their job.. and then,my favorite-"the queen mother of many who hasn't been anywhere in years and feels entitled to do whatever she and her brood wants".sometimes you just want to track them down to their job and see how they like being messed with.[i][/i]

I own my own business on line, and luckily most of the feedback I get back from people is good, but I do get those customers on occasion that are obviously just out to ruin other people's day because their life is so miserable, so it makes them feel good to put other people down. People like that should truly get a taste of their own medicine. As a customer if someone goes out of their way to do a great job, I usually try to tell them or the people they work for that I really appreciated how wonderful they were. I am never rude to anyone, unless they are rude to me, but I always say please and thank you and am always very nice to people. I don't see any reason to be rude, disrespectful or demanding to another human being.

I have been a stay-at-home mom for almost 8 years now, but before that I spent YEARS in various forms of customer service - managing video stores, clothing stores, property management, air conditioning dispatch, etc. No, the customer is NOT always right. But, sadly, to keep customers, employees are usually required to give customers what they want. I was once in a game store where a lady walked up to the service counter, told the employee she was going next door and would be back in a few minutes for her child. Huh? Was the employee supposed to watch the kid. I was proud of him for flat-out telling her that he was not responsible for her kid. After she left (leaving her child behind), he said he was always amazed at how many people would do that. He was a young man and said he felt every person should have to go through parenting classes before taking a child home from the hospital. I do expect good service when I go somewhere, but I also compliment the employees and let them know I appreciate it. I give GOOD feedback as much as I give the negative feedback. Both are important for a business to be successful.

I think you are right,some people are just put on this earth to annoy people.I always try to be polite and offer my best manners.normally I get served well and sorted out quicker than those shouting and swearing.

I do agree the customer is not always right but most places say that for customer satisfaction. I worked retail before and had to deal with customers that were not right and brought back used items that were not in good condition that we had to take back. The store had to take a loss on. It is really a crazy world out there and some really rude people I mean anyone will do anything to get there way at a store and take it out on customer service.

Having been on the service providing end of the deal, I know that the customer is not always right, and can sometimes be rude and or dishonest. I also know some customer service employees are indifferent, and others are very hard working. I try to offer appreciation to those people who serve me, or the people I am with.

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this. that would get on my last nerve also. People are so disresectful these days. I work at home now because of it.

Kinda funny, I was going to post a discussion very similar in regards to call center workers. I'm with credit and collections (seperate department from customer service but we have the same guidelines and rules of conduct). I'll do every thing in my power to help the custome but still get called every name in the book and then some no matter what - you know it's all my fault they have a 12,000 dollar electric bill and their service is or going to be turned off :( Obviously the 'customer' doesn't realize we're working for next to minumum wage, have disconnect notices just like them, and yet get abused on a daily basis.

Personal responsibility!! I agree with you that people need to watch their OWN kids and not throw things on the floor or expect anybody else to pick up after them, but I disagree with the inference that the customer is not always right. I have gone on a rampage before because employees that work for a company are not performing their job duties because they 'don't want to' or whatever, or they feel they have wiggle room to tell me they do not 'have to' perform their job to the degree that I believe they should. For instance, if you work for a place that presses clothing for $1 per item, and I ask you to iron a shirt and a pair of jeans, that is what I expect, that without complaining, finagling over the price, or making me wait an extended amount of time, my items are ironed and hung and given back for $2 within a reasonable amount of time. Fair? I think so. If say you work for a landscape company and on the list of services the company performs is mowing lawns, trimming or removing other plants/trees/branches, weeding, sweeping/blowing off sidewalks and driveways or removing junk/leaves etc, and I hire you to clear off my yard, removing all debris, leaves, weeds, vegetation, and junk and leave nothing but dirt behind and we negotiate a price, then that's what I want, and only that. I should not have anybody argue with me, try to do something I didn't ask for and THEN demand payment, etc etc etc. I am not an 'ungrateful' client, I hire you to do a job exactly as I expect, and that is what I pay for, and that should be the end of it. I know this sounds like I am going a bit off topic but I don't understand how people can try to like... pick and choose their job responsibilities. If your job entails 25 things, then you could be asked or hired at any time by any client to do any of those 25 things, for any reason, and if a price is negotiated and you receive your payment for the job, then you should do it, to the best of your ability, and only that, with a smile, and take your money, and move on. You don't have to LIKE the client, you don't have to enjoy the job, but if someone pays and it is within your job description, I do believe you need to just do it. Unless of course your employer has a clause that says you can refuse service to anybody at any time for any reason and you like reducing your customer base (and thus your cash flow) by purposely refusing service for whatever reason floats your boat that morning lol. I am very nice to people who are doing their jobs, and I even handsomely tip people for EXCELLENT service or for going above and beyond or doing something for me that they didn't HAVE to do. However, if someone is being snippy with me and I am paying them to do something or they act resentful or insulted that they HAVE to serve me (when that is what they were hired to do in the first place), then I do not feel like I have to be nice any more at that point. You have to give respect to get it, and sometimes I think people have chosen the wrong job field to be in because they are actually not social at all and do not even like people. I have worked in customer service before and I have been the customer. I can tell you FOR SURE that when I worked, I was expected to live by that little 'customer is always right' motto. If I was nasty to my customer, I, yes *I*, got in trouble! I believe there is a huge lack of tact, respect, and diplomacy these days, and many many younger people who work in customer service. This means SERVING A CUSTOMER. Somehow that philosophy is lost on some of these younger people, who have not been raised to realize that people are paying for a service and they need to provide that service. Now that I am more often the customer than the person providing the service, I have certain expectations out of any customer service experience, and that is basically that the person strives to be helpful, considerate, listens to what is requested and then tries to deliver to the best of their ability. If they cannot help, I don't mind if they get someone else who can, provided that person either solves my problem (which I am paying them for), or in turn transfers me to someone else who can. As long as within short order, I get to someone who can actually solve my problem (and thus deserves the money I pay them) I am a satisfied customer. I simply don't like it when someone who is working for ME tries to act like I need to listen to THEM when they are not paying ME. Whoever is paying the money has the power. I have no clue when people have started trying to act like it's the other way around.

I used to work as a cashier in a bank and had done so for many years so I liked to think that I was adequately trained in customer service and made a point of always being polite and followed every query through until it was resolved, I always had a smile and a nice word and yet, I hate to say it but there were and awful lot of clients who wouldn't even look at me let alone acknowledge me; some would literally throw their banking to me and others would be downright abusive if the balance of their account did not coincide with their records. Needless to say after 15 years in the industry I changed occupation and no longer deal with the public.

Ya, i can truly understand how you feel. I'm a worker now and i've once been a waiter too,servicing customers in a restaurant, cafe, and shops. Some of the people out there are really rude and do not respect others. In their mind they think that customer are always right, and so they can just simply ask the worker or customer service personel to do as what they want. Those're really annoying and it doesn't feel good when someone just yell at you and ask you to do this do that. However, on the other hand, there're also many customers who are kind and always very polite to the workers or customer service too. A simple thank you or smile from them will just enough to brighten our day and we'll feel appreciated.